Letters from the Front, Part 2: 1917 France

2nd installment in this WWI series

In Memoriam: Emmett Hamblen Shaw (1896-1979)

10 P.M. Sat. April 21^st, [1917] On Board SS. Rochambeau

Left pier 57 North River at 3:30 P.M. Weather Foggy. Could not get good view of New York sky-line on trip down harbor- statue of liberty barely visible. Dropped pilot at Sandy Hook at 5. Fog settled down thicker and all signs of land disappeared. As soon as darkness came all portholes barricaded and doors shut. Not a sign of any light on deck—one light high up in cross-trees, however, --(which seems rather strange as everything else is dark). Two sea-men continually on watch on forward deck- where small brass cannon is mounted.

Sent a telegram to Uncle Lawrence just before getting on board but pulled a bone in forgetting that tomorrow is Sunday. He will not get it till Monday as it was a night letter addressed to the Paulsen Bldg.

Boat began to rise and fall slightly about 6 o’clock with more and more motion as time went on. Dinner at 7:30—our 1^st meal. There are on board about 60 young boys mostly from Harvard Dartmouth and Cornell; a sprinkling of Frenchmen mostly middle aged— (one or two having their wives and families); a few French girls and one or two red-cross nurses, --also some medical men, and one French soldier in the regulation Police uniform with a brilliant ‘croix de guerre” on his breast. (It seems he is a petty officer on 6 months furlough and now headed for the trenches again.) The crew is entirely French—and can understand very little English. As our boys are by far the biggest part of the passenger list—and only about 5 can talk much French we ought to have some fun.
Curiously enough I ran across 2 Spokane boys before we were out of New York Harbor-- Emmett Durkin whom I used to know in Spokane and Lester Whitten whom I never before knew. Seems rather queer for a small town like Spokane to have 3 representatives in a motley crowd like this.

The 1^st meal was fair—only fair—served in that peculiar French way—one course at a time. The bread is ‘war bread’ all one kind—hard and brown there is hardly any butter. There are two kinds of wine (vin rouge and vin blanc—and both are, according to my notion absolutely putrid). Out in the smoking room, however, they serve some light beer that is better than any I ever tasted—very mild and sweet. Roast lamb, lima beans, apricot pie, cheese + coffee made up the rest of the meal—all one at a time with about 10 minutes between each course it makes it a long drawn out and rather punk.
10:30 P.M. The old ship is rolling for fair now--some have already turned in. I can hear a big noise up in the smoking room I guess I'll see what's up. I can see where we have a slow time for the next 9 days--it takes 9 days from New York to Bordeaux on this boat.

...to be continued